Papers by george zillante
We don't know enough about the condition of Australias housing. In the nearly two decades sin... more We don't know enough about the condition of Australias housing. In the nearly two decades since the last Australian Housing Survey by the Australian Bureau of Statistics there have been significant changes in the housing system. The Australian Housing Conditions Dataset (AHCD) responds to a pressing need for a reliable and up-to-date housing conditions data infrastructure. This initial wave is focused on New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia, however additional work to build upon, adapt and apply the AHCD research protocols to different population groups and locations is encouraged. The AHCD and research protocols will be accessible through the Australian Data Archive in late 2018. The AHCD provides: An infrastructure of tools, data and protocols for Australian researchers and policy makers; A foundation for evidence-informed research on Australia's housing conditions; and Essential evidence required to address the real and chronic housing needs of vulnerable Austra...
This study investigated the interconnections between housing, community infrastructure and qualit... more This study investigated the interconnections between housing, community infrastructure and quality of life for Indigenous people living with disability. It incorporated three case studies from Yalata and Point Pearce in South Australia and Greater Geelong in Victoria that revealed poor health and disability are major issues facing the Indigenous populations in these areas. The research highlights the need for specialist facilities for Indigenous people with disability designed and built in consultation with the local community and stakeholders, and that the NDIS understand and account for the challenges facing Indigenous people with disability.
F. Zhang, J. Zuo, S. Pullen and George Zillant
Resources Conservation and Recycling, Sep 1, 2023
The international journal of construction management, 2006
Project culture is raised as a general concept in some academic papers and industry reports. Thos... more Project culture is raised as a general concept in some academic papers and industry reports. Those studies indicate that project culture is very important for the processing of construction projects; however, they do not provide a clear definition of project culture. In addition, there is no model that specifically examines the project culture of each construction project. This paper reviews the literature about cultural studies in a construction projects context, especially the culture at project level. A modified version of the current and generally used organizational culture model is suggested after the literature review. Finally a pilot case study was conducted to test the suggested model as well as the research instrument that will be used in further studies. The results show that the waste derived from the inappropriate behaviours/attitudes of the project participants can be minimized by creating a positive project culture. As a result, the value of the client/project will be improved.
ICCREM 2015, Sep 25, 2015
Waste Management, 2022
The economic instrument is an effective approach to encourage demolition contractors to conduct l... more The economic instrument is an effective approach to encourage demolition contractors to conduct low-impact waste management. It is essential for project managers and decision-makers to better understand the cost-benefit of demolition waste (DW) management, to promote development of an effective waste management plan. This study explores the interactive dynamics and adaptive nature between stakeholders, where the cost-benefit of DW management is analysed through the agent-based modelling approach. Shenzhen, a leading city in China in the management of DW, was selected as the study area. It was revealed that if the traditional demolition method is adopted as the primary choice, the net benefit of demolition of buildings in the study case will reach -131.4 billion yuan, i.e. the cost will surpass the revenue. If the selective demolition method is widely used by demolition contractors, simulation results indicate that the net benefit will reach 33.3 billion yuan, an increase of 125.34%, compared to the situation in which the traditional demolition method is widely implemented. Based on the simulation, an optimal management framework for DW management stakeholders was constructed. The research results can provide a decision-making basis for the government and relevant departments to formulate DW management measures.
Automation in Construction, Dec 1, 2016
Abstract Construction supply chain management (CSCM) has gained rapid development in last decades... more Abstract Construction supply chain management (CSCM) has gained rapid development in last decades. As a result, the conventional Internet fails to fulfill demands for real-time information sharing and communication derived from various participants of the construction supply chain (CSC).The emerging Mobile Internet (M-Internet) has provided potential for solving this issue. This paper presents a systematic review on M-Internet based CSCM via descriptive and thematic analyses of publications retrieved from four major databases. The theoretical contribution of this paper is the development of an integrated framework in this research domain. This includes five aspects of CSCM, i.e. material flow and supply management, real-time information sharing and communication, coordination and integration in CSC, technology support for M-Internet, and associated safety issues. Finally, gaps in the existing body of knowledge are identified and future research agenda is proposed.
Environment, Development and Sustainability, Apr 12, 2021
China’s cross-border pollution problem has attracted a growing level of attention from the domest... more China’s cross-border pollution problem has attracted a growing level of attention from the domestic and international community. The elimination of environmental pollution greatly depends on professional environmental protection companies. China’s environmental protection industry has sustained a rapid growth with 26.9% annual growing rate of output value since 2011. To effectively discover the potential investment fields and regions, this study examines the spatial distribution of 53 A-Share Listed Environmental Companies (ASLEC) in China and their 927 subsidiaries. Methods of hot spot analysis, Pearson’s correlation analysis and coarsened exact matching were employed in our paper to reveal the spatial distribution characteristics of environmental protection industry and their main influencing indicators. Results show that ASLEC invested over US$ 13 billion distributed in 210 cities in China in 2017. Treatment of wastewater and municipal solid waste related to traditional water supply, drainage and sanitation are the main businesses of the environmental protection industry in China. This is because these businesses belong to conventional urban municipal works with low technological requirement and high economic return. Therefore, the government should support those environmental protection businesses with fine technology, such as air pollution prevention and industrial waste control. Our study also reveals that there is a strong and positive correlation between municipal indicators and environmental protection investment. This indicates that the municipal works attract much more investment of environmental protection companies than heavy industries. The eastern region of China remains a hot spot for investment whereas the investment in the western region increased significantly in 2017. The potential of future development will be located in the central and western regions. For serious air pollution and large-scale industrial transfer from eastern regions to the central and western regions in China, there is lack of industrialization environmental protection capacity to fulfill the ambitious national pollution reduction target. This opportunity implies to attract more investments from international environmental protection companies.
Journal of Engineering, Design and Technology, Jul 4, 2016
PurposeCorporate social responsibility (CSR) practice and research regarding construction contrac... more PurposeCorporate social responsibility (CSR) practice and research regarding construction contractors are comparatively limited. The purpose of this research is to identify a series of CSR issues that reflect the major components of CSR, and to determine the perceived importance of these factors in the context of construction contractors.Design/methodology/approachA CSR indicator framework was developed based on stakeholder theory. CSR stakeholders and their corresponding CSR performance issues in construction contractors are classified into two levels, i.e. project level and organizational level. This is followed by a questionnaire survey to investigate the perceptions on relative importance of CSR issues of four key stakeholders in typical construction projects in China, i.e. construction contractors, clients, design and engineering consultancy and supervision firms.FindingsThe study highlighted a number of factors, e.g. “quality and safety of construction”, “occupational health and safety” and “supplier/partner relationship” were highly regarded; however, their relative importance varied according to the type of responding organization.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings indicated the major concerns of the different parties in construction projects, thereby providing a pathway for construction contractors to improve their CSR practice.Originality/valueThe priorities of various stakeholders described in this paper provide a useful reference for construction contractors in the selection and adoption of criteria for CSR performance. A better understanding of perceived priorities of CSR factors from different participating parties also serves useful inputs to construction contractors in their stakeholder management process.
Architectural Science Review, Jan 8, 2019
Although construction and demolition (C&D) waste has drawn increasing attention from scholars, th... more Although construction and demolition (C&D) waste has drawn increasing attention from scholars, there is a lack of study to summarize the latest development of C&D waste research. By using a bibliometric analysis method, this study carries out a holistic review of C&D waste articles published from 1994 to 2017. It shows that the number of C&D waste articles has risen eight-times within the period. This study also demonstrates the social networks among the authors, countries, and organizations. Based on the keywords cluster analysis, the C&D waste research can be divided into five clusters, including (1) environmental concerns of C&D waste; (2) recyclability of C&D waste; (3) performance and behaviour tests of recycled products; (4) C&D waste management; and (5) C&D waste with industrial ecology. Meanwhile, the research status and future directions are discussed as well. The results would be valuable for understanding the streams and trends in C&D waste research.
Springer eBooks, Jun 18, 2013
Documentation quality is of high importance for any procurement method, however for a managing co... more Documentation quality is of high importance for any procurement method, however for a managing contract type procurement it is particularly important as there is limited time to issue and fine tune the finalised drawings for tender without the potential to halt concurrent works. It is the quality of the finalised documentation during this construction phase that generally dictates the final outcomes of a project. This research adopted a qualitative approach to investigate documentation quality issues in construction projects. Selected industry professionals in South Australia were interviewed, followed by a case study. The results showed that choosing an appropriate procurement approach plays a critical role to improve the documentation quality. In particular, the risks associated with management contracting in terms of documentation quality are highlighted.
Open House International, Dec 1, 2012
Over the last two decades the average floor area of new houses in Australia has increased signifi... more Over the last two decades the average floor area of new houses in Australia has increased significantly. This has coincided with greater expectations of thermal comfort in homes. In certain locations, the result has been an escalation of the use of large mechanical air conditioning systems in houses. Since it is predicted that climate change will lead to an increase in the frequency and severity of extreme weather events such as heatwaves, the future maintenance of thermal comfort in houses in an affordable manner is likely to be challenging. This will have implications not only for the health and comfort of the occupants but also for peak energy loads. A compounding factor is the likelihood of increased energy prices caused, in part, by financial mechanisms aimed at minimising greenhouse gas emissions. There will be sections of the community, such as the elderly and the less well off, that will be particularly vulnerable to these combined factors. This paper explores design strategies that could be incorporated in new and existing houses to improve thermal comfort for residents during heatwaves. It is shown that during such periods, behaviour change, thermal comfort requirements and extra energy consumption have a strong influence on devising solutions for this challenge. The results of a pilot study are given that indicate opportunities for creating cool refuges in the existing dwelling stock.
Participation in teaching and learning plays a critical role for students‟ better understanding o... more Participation in teaching and learning plays a critical role for students‟ better understanding of course principles and contents. A number of studies have been undertaken to investigate ways to better engage students through conventional course delivery modes in the classroom. Purely online course delivery is an emerging approach in contemporary education. This research adopted a qualitative approach to explore student engagement issues in an online project management postgraduate course. Students enrolled in the course were asked to comment on their perceptions of student engagement in online environments. The results showed that there are substantial differences between student engagement in classrooms and that in online environments. Implications are discussed.
The construction industry has been found to be a major generator of waste and there are many chal... more The construction industry has been found to be a major generator of waste and there are many challenges associated with finding the most sustainable way to manage construction waste. As the construction industry is a project based industry, it is essential to look at cultural issues related to waste management at the project level. Therefore, this research aims to identify the current status of waste management practices in construction projects by analysing project managers’ views on waste management performance in construction projects; project managers’ attitudes towards waste management; and project managers’ views on waste management culture in construction projects. A questionnaire survey was carried out and project managers were selected as a target group to distribute questionnaires, as project managers have a vital involvement in promoting and maintaining project culture in the construction project environment. Data was analysed using descriptive statistics and the Kruskal-Wallis test. The findings reveal that project managers believe that even though the operational cost of waste minimisation is high in construction projects, overall waste management is profitable. At the same time it was interesting that even though project managers believe most project participants are satisfied with existing waste management systems, overall waste management efforts are not perceived as being at a satisfactory level in construction projects. Project managers consider waste as an inevitable by-product, but they do not believe that waste management is beyond the control of project members or that waste has no value. At the same time, it was found that project managers infer that project participants are cost and time conscious in waste management despite the roles, responsibilities and duties of each party in waste management not being well-coordinated or fully understood. Taken together, these findings highlight the misconceptions related to waste management in construction projects and emphasise the necessity of collective responsibility on the part of project participants to enhance the performance of waste management in construction projects.
Resources Conservation and Recycling, Mar 1, 2023
Environmental Impact Assessment Review
Social Science Research Network, Jun 28, 2019
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Papers by george zillante